Wow, so it’s Thursday huh? Yep sure is, and today I have my friend Becka (who is a photographer, as most of my friends are) here to share a little insight into her “weddingmoon”. Yes, I know, it sounds a little odd and you may have never even heard of it before, which is why she’s explaining her own “weddingmoon” to us today! Because let’s face it- a huge done up wedding isn’t for everyone. So if you’ve been toying with the idea of eloping or having a destination wedding, this post is for YOU! :)
Hello there Every Last Detail readers! My name is Becka Robinson and I am a newlywed (how long do I get to maintain newlywed status? It’s been a year… we can still claim it right?) and soon-to-be mom who happens to also be a wedding photographer and blogger. I’m also a pretty good Anthropologie sale-scouter, Netflix instant queue addict, and one-woman Carrie Underwood cover band (but only in the shower). True story.
I’m honored to be writing here today about a fun style of elopement. I’ve dubbed it a “Weddingmoon” because it’s kind of a mix of eloping, having a destination wedding, and going on a honeymoon. And it happens to be what my (fantastic beyond belief) husband and I did for our own wedding.
Basically, we didn’t want to tackle the big, traditional wedding ordeal. It wasn’t really “us”. Plus, I’m a big time perfectionist and I knew that if I started down that road of trying to plan the perfect not-too-traditional, not-too-modern, DIY, slightly indie, slightly vintage wedding I would have surely lost my mind and spent a small fortune. So we decided to just skip it altogether. And, for us, it was a fantastic decision. I hope that by sharing what we did, how we did it, and why we decided to do it, I might help some other bride out there who is feeling completely overwhelmed to see another way of having a wedding that might be a perfect fit.
What we did:
When my husband and I got engaged we decided right away that we wanted to say our vows in Italy. (On the Amalfi Coast, to be specific.) I had spent a summer there in college and had fallen in love with the area. I could think of nothing more romantic than saying our vows on the top of a mountain overlooking the sea. He agreed and we started planning the trip of our lives.
How we did it:
Before we left we decided to take care of the legal side of things and went to the courthouse to be legally married here in the states. (Trying to deal with the paperwork to be married outside the US was more stress than we wanted to deal with.) A few days later, we packed my wedding dress, his gray suit, and all our honeymooning necessities and headed to Europe.
Our photographer met us in Italy and spent 2 days with us. The first day he came with us to Capri and took portraits of us at the top of the island and on the ferry boat. It was such a fun extra to have and it was fun to hang out with him and his wife while sightseeing. The next day was our vow ceremony and we all trekked it up to a mountain overlooking the sea (which also happened to have a gorgeous castle situated on top) and picked out a pretty spot in a clearing for our vows. We didn’t really have this location picked out ahead of time, all we knew was that we wanted something outside, on a mountain, with a view. Not having too strict of a plan when traveling helped us to roll with the punches and kept us from getting too stressed out.
Photos by Jeff Newsom
We took turns saying vows we had written to each other and exchanged wedding rings and then sealed the deal with a kiss. Since we were already “legally” married we didn’t need to hire an officiant to be there with us for this part and we had no paperwork to sign. It was extremely intimate and special. We both got teary eyed. We were able to say exactly what we wanted since we were not in front of any sort of audience. There was no one around except for our photographer and his wife and that moment will forever be blazed into my memory as one of the most romantic and special moments of my life.
Photos by Jeff Newsom
Afterward we spent a few hours exploring the area with our photographer taking pictures before headed to a delicious Italian dinner of pasta and red wine (and gelato, I mean, come on you can’t skip the gelato!)
Photo by Jeff Newsom
We spent a total of 3 weeks in Europe exploring Italy, Barcelona, and Paris and we have some fantastic memories (and tons of photos) to show for it. When we got back home, we hosted an outdoor dinner party at our house where we got to celebrate with our friends and showed off photos from our trip and ceremony.
Why we decided to do it:
For us, this was the perfect wedding option. We still got to celebrate with our friends and family, but instead of spending our wedding budget on planning a wedding (which for us would have been way too stressful) we spent it traveling through Europe and having the most magical vow experience we could have imagined.
I know this style of wedding isn’t for everyone, and by no means am I trying to say this is the best way, but I hope that it inspires you to think outside of the box with your own wedding and to look for ways to really make it work for you and your fiancé as a couple. It is a day that you will remember forever so it deserves to be extra special.
If anyone has any questions about what we did or how we made it work (logistical or otherwise) please feel free to ask me. Or if you are interested in doing something similar and just want some reassurance, I’m here. You can reach me at beckarobinson@me.com. If you want to see tons of photos from our trip, our vow ceremony, and our party afterward, you can see them here on my personal blog, Life as an Artistpreneur.
Cheers and happy planning!
Thank you so much for sharing all of this information about a weddingmoon with us Becka! So brides, now tell me- have you been thinking about eloping or having a destination wedding? Did Becka’s post put a new idea in your head? Are you planning a non-traditional wedding, and if so, what are you doing? Share with us in the comments! :)
Lauren
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I always joked that we’d elope when the wedding planning got too stressful, but I never could see myself doing it. But then I see this and now feel like this might have been a wonderful choice and still have that reception when we get home so that people feel a part of it all! Such beautiful pictures and very inspiring!
What an absolutely fabulous idea!!! this is wonderful alternative to a big big big wedding :)
OMG, I LOVE THE PLACE, THE CONCEPT OF THE SUBJECT IS VERY SIMPLE BUT IT REALLY GIVES A GREAT IMPACT TO THE PHOTOS. i REALLY LIKE THE LAST PICTURE SO WONDERFUL.